ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Generally regarded as the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto was first published in 1764. Its author is Horace Walpole (1717–1797), but it purports to be a translation of a work printed in Naples in 1529 and newly discovered in the library of ‘an ancient Catholic family in the north of England’.

Detailed explanation-2: -Walpole was inspired to write the story after a nightmare he had at his Gothic Revival home, Strawberry Hill House, in southwest London.

Detailed explanation-3: -It tells the story of Manfred, the prince of Otranto, who is keen to secure the castle for his descendants in the face of a mysterious curse. The novel begins with the death of Manfred’s son, Conrad, who is crushed to death by an enormous helmet on the morning of his wedding to the beautiful princess Isabella.

Detailed explanation-4: -Horace Walpole (1717-1797) was an English writer and politician, who is mainly known for his short novel The Castle of Otranto (1764) which is considered the first example of the genre of the Gothic novel.

Detailed explanation-5: -Walpole presents The Castle of Otranto as the English translation of a recently discovered manuscript. The preface to the first edition suggests that the manuscript was written sometime between 1095 and 1243 (during the Crusades), “or not long afterwards, ” and subsequently printed in Naples in 1529.